On Monday, Sept. 15, Hurricane Odile made landfall in the Mexican resort town of Cabo S. Lucas. Located at the tip of the Baja California peninsula, Cabo was blasted with winds of 120 miles per hour and deemed a Category 3 hurricane.



In the days that followed, this once idyllic vacation spot was overturned. Looters filled the streets, and without electricity and phone lines, many residents and tourists found themselves cut off from the outside world.



Rabbi Benny Hershcovich, co-director of the Cabo Jewish Center, sprang into action.

After driving his wife, Sonia, nine months pregnant, and his three children 100 miles north to La Paz, Mexico, Hershcovich returned to Cabo to help the community.

Two volunteers from Chabad Without Borders, an organization that serves Jewish communities straddling the U.S.-Mexican border, made the 1,200-mile trek from Tijuana, Mexico, with much-needed kosher food, a generator and other essential supplies.

While the trio set to work helping the local community, a different story began to unfold 3,000 miles away.

A picture of Hershcovich and the two volunteers was posted on the official Chabad.org Instagram account.



An Instagram user saw the post and left this comment, asking for help in finding her friend’s father:



In the era of digital communication, individuals from around the world—separated by oceans and continents—can now instantaneously interact. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram connect us wherever we may be, from the smartphones and tablets we hold in our hands. From helping a traveler in Thailand find the closest synagogue to counseling a student in Miami during a personal crisis, such forms of digital discourse have become commonplace.

Contacting Hershcovich, who was then back online, we sent him the message.

Later that day, he set off in search of Christopher.

Finding that the road to his neighborhood had been washed away in the storm, Hershcovich hiked up the hill on foot, asking those he encountered if they knew a man named Christopher.

"At last, we found him safe and sound," Hershcovich said. "His computer got wet during the storm and he couldn’t connect with his family to tell them that he was alright."

And so, the two snapped a selfie.



The news that he was fine was met with such joy; it was simply unbelievable.



Asking Hershcovich about his experience, he responded: "Before Yom Kippur, the Sages stress the importance of our unity. To be able, by means of modern communication, to bring people back together is simply amazing."

Despite the difficulty in searching for Christopher, there was an added benefit as well. As the rabbi said, "Now I made a wonderful friend."